US20050058486A1 - Print controller for reducing document data to be printed on sheet - Google Patents
Print controller for reducing document data to be printed on sheet Download PDFInfo
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- US20050058486A1 US20050058486A1 US10/926,982 US92698204A US2005058486A1 US 20050058486 A1 US20050058486 A1 US 20050058486A1 US 92698204 A US92698204 A US 92698204A US 2005058486 A1 US2005058486 A1 US 2005058486A1
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J11/00—Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
- B41J11/008—Controlling printhead for accurately positioning print image on printing material, e.g. with the intention to control the width of margins
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
- H04N2201/0077—Types of the still picture apparatus
- H04N2201/0082—Image hardcopy reproducer
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, and to details thereof
- H04N2201/32—Circuits or arrangements for control or supervision between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device, e.g. between a still-image camera and its memory or between a still-image camera and a printer device
- H04N2201/333—Mode signalling or mode changing; Handshaking therefor
- H04N2201/33307—Mode signalling or mode changing; Handshaking therefor of a particular mode
- H04N2201/33314—Mode signalling or mode changing; Handshaking therefor of a particular mode of reading or reproducing mode
- H04N2201/33321—Image or page size, e.g. A3, A4
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a print controller capable of printing documents while maintaining an aspect ration thereof without wasting a sheet, even when the printable area on the sheet is modified.
- Japanese unexamined patent application publication No. 11-99724 discloses a print layout device that reduces the print data so that the data can be arranged within the printable area of the sheet, when setting margins to accommodate bindings.
- This print layout device includes means for setting the margins for the sheet; means for calculating the printable area on the sheet based on the margins set by the setting means; means for enlarging or reducing the print data to fit the calculated printable area to the printable area; and means for laying out the enlarged or reduced print data according to the specified margins and for controlling the printer to print according to this layout.
- the enlarging/reducing means of this print layout device is configured to enlarge or reduce the print data while maintaining the aspect ratio of the original print data.
- the print controller is characterized by including: a first area calculating unit that subtracts an unprintable area from a sheet to calculate a first area having a prescribed aspect ratio; a margin setting unit that sets a margin in the sheet; a second area calculating unit that subtracts an overlapped area between the margin and the first area from the first area to calculate a second area: a reduction ratio calculating unit that calculates a reduction ratio of the first area so that the first area can be reduced while maintaining the prescribed aspect ratio to achieve a maximum occupation within the second area; a third area calculating unit that divides the second area by the reduction ratio to calculate a third area which is broader than the second area; a laying out unit that sets the third area as a printable area to lay out document data within the third area; and a first print commanding unit that reduces the document data laid out in the third area by the reduction ratio to issue a command for printing the reduced document data on the second area.
- the print controller is characterized by including: a first area calculating unit that subtracts an unprintable area from a sheet to calculate a first area having a prescribed aspect ratio; a divided print setting unit that selects a divided print to print on an area of the sheet divided by a number of N; a second area calculating unit that multiplies the first area by a ratio of 1/N to calculate a second area; a reduction ratio calculating unit that calculates a reduction ratio for the first area so that the first area can be reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio to achieve a maximum occupation in the second area; a third area calculating unit that divides the second area by the reduction ratio to calculate a third area which is broader than the second area: a laying out unit that lays out document data in the third area as a printable area; and a first print commanding unit that reduces the document data in the third area laid out by the laying out means by the reduction ratio to issue a command to print the reduced document data in the second area.
- the print controller is characterized by including: means for subtracting an unprintable area from a sheet to obtain a printable area having an aspect ratio, the unprintable area having a width; means for setting a desired printing area within the printable area; means for calculating a reduction ratio for the printable area so that the printable area can be reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio to achieve a maximum occupation within the desired printing area means for dividing the desired printing area by the reduction ratio to obtain a virtual area; means for laying out document data with the virtual area; and means for reducing the virtual area including the laid out document data by the reduction ratio to issue a command to print the reduced document data on the desired printing area.
- FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a printing system 100 according to the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functions implemented by a CPU 10 under different programs stored in an external memory 18 ;
- FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the steps in a process executed by an application 30 to request sheet data from a printer driver 50 ,
- FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the steps in a process executed by the printer driver 50 in response to a sheet size received from the application 30 ;
- FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a printable area
- FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example post-process print area according to the first embodiment
- FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the printable area according to the first embodiment that has been reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio thereof;
- FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a virtual print area according to the first embodiment
- FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the steps in a process by the application 30 to lay out document data, create a layout, and issue a print command to the printer driver 50 ;
- FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing steps in a layout creation process of FIG. 9 ;
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing steps in a printing process executed by the printer driver 50 based on the layout created by the application 30 ;
- FIG. 12 is a plan view showing one example of a printing operation performed by the printing system 100 according to the first embodiment
- FIG. 13 is a plan view showing one example of a printing operation according to the conventional printing system
- FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the steps in a process executed by the printer driver 50 in response to a sheet size received from the application 30 in a second embodiment
- FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example of a post-process print area according to the second embodiment.
- FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the printable area according to the second embodiment that has been reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio thereof;
- FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a virtual print area according to the second embodiment.
- FIG. 18 is a plan view showing an example of a printing operation performed by the printing system 100 according to the second embodiment
- FIG. 19 is a plan view showing an example of a printing operation according to the conventional system.
- FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the steps in a process executed by an application 30 according to a third embodiment.
- the printing system 100 includes a host computer 1 and a printer 7 .
- the host computer 1 and the printer 7 are connected via a communication cable 9 .
- the host computer 1 includes a CPU 10 , a ROM 11 , a RAM 12 , a keyboard controller 13 , a display controller 15 , a disk controller 17 , and a printer controller 19 .
- the above components of the host computer 1 are connected to a system bus 20 .
- the host computer 1 further includes a keyboard 14 connected to the keyboard controller 13 , a display 16 connected to the display controller 15 , and an external memory 18 connected to the disk controller 17 .
- the CPU 10 is a central processing unit for controlling overall operations of each component which is connected to the system bus 20 .
- the CPU 10 executes a document creation process to create a document including text, photographs, or graphics based on a word processing program stored in the ROM 11 .
- the CPU 10 receives commands that a user indicates through a mouse cursor on the display 16 and then opens various windows registered for the command to execute different data processes. To execute a printing process using the printer 7 , the user can open a printer option window to set options for a printer driver 50 (not shown)
- the ROM 11 stores an operating system (OS) program for controlling the CPU 10 ; various programs for word processing, and data for fonts used in word processing.
- OS operating system
- the RAM 12 primarily functions as a work area that the CPU 10 uses when the CPU 10 executes the various programs stored in the ROM 11 .
- the keyboard controller 13 controls input from keys on the keyboard 14 .
- the display controller 15 controls the content displayed on the display 16 .
- the disk controller 17 controls memory accesses between the CPU 10 and the external memory 18 .
- the printer controller 19 executes a communication control process to control communications between the host computer 1 and the printer 7 .
- the keyboard 14 includes various keys.
- the display 16 displays text, photographs, or graphics.
- the external memory 18 is configured of a hard disk for storing the printer driver 50 .
- the printer 7 includes a CPU 70 , a ROM 71 , a RAM 72 , an input unit 73 , a printing unit interface 74 , and an operating unit 76 .
- the above components of the printer 7 are connected to a system bus 77 .
- the printer 7 further includes a printing unit 75 connected to the printing unit interface 74 .
- the CPU 70 is a central processing unit for controlling the overall functions of all components which are connected to the system bus 77 .
- the CPU 70 outputs image signals to the printing unit 75 as output data based on control programs stored in the ROM 71 .
- the CPU 70 can also communicate with the host computer 1 via the input unit 73 in order to notify the host computer 1 of information regarding the printer 7 .
- the ROM 71 stores control programs for the CPU 70 and data for fonts used when the printer 7 creates output data.
- the RAM 72 functions as a work area for the CPU 70 .
- the input unit 73 facilitates data transmission and reception between the printer 7 and the host computer 1 .
- the printing unit interface 74 facilitates data transmission and reception between the CPU 70 and the printing unit 75 .
- the printing unit 75 performs printing operations under the control of the CPU 70 .
- the operating unit 76 includes switches and a display for facilitating various operations.
- FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions that the CPU 10 implements by various programs stored in the external memory 18 .
- the host computer 1 includes an application 30 , a graphics engine 40 , and the printer driver 50 that are stored in the external memory 18 of FIG. 1 .
- the application 30 , the graphics engine 40 , and the printer driver 50 are programs which are loaded into the RAM 12 and executed by the OS.
- the application 30 and the printer driver 50 can be stored in the hard disk of the external memory 18 from a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a CD-ROM.
- the application 30 which is stored in the external memory 18 is loaded the RAM 12 and executed.
- the graphics engine 40 has been loaded to the RAM 12 and ready for the implementation.
- a printing process is performed by using the graphics engine 40 when the application 30 issues a print command to the printer 7 to perform a printing operation.
- both the graphics engine 40 and the printer driver 50 which is provided for the printer 7 , are loaded from the external memory 18 into the RAM 12 .
- Output from the application 30 is sent to the printer driver 50 .
- the graphics engine 40 converts functions received from the application 30 into functions for the printer driver 50 and outputs the converted functions.
- the printer driver 50 converts the functions received from the graphics engine 40 into control commands such as a Page Description Language (PDL) which can be recognized by the printer 7 .
- PDL Page Description Language
- the application 30 is executed by the host computer 1 to implement the following functions. As shown in FIG. 2 , the application 30 implements, a sheet size setting function 31 , a sheet data acquiring function 32 , a layout creating function 33 , and a command function 34 .
- the sheet size setting function 31 sets the size of sheet used for word processing through user operations. After starting the application 30 to create a document, the user opens a window on the screen and sets the size of the document through the sheet size setting function 31 .
- the sheet data acquiring function 32 acquires data related to the sheet size from the printer driver 50 based on the sheet size set by the sheet size setting function 31 .
- This sheet size data includes the dimensions of the sheet, and dimensions of the area within the sheet that can actually be printed by the printer 7 .
- this data will be referred to as sheet data.
- the sheet data acquiring function 32 transmits the sheet size set by the sheet size setting function 31 to the printer driver 50 via the graphics engine 40 .
- the printer driver 50 calculates the area within the sheet that the printer 7 can print based on the sheet size set by the application 30 .
- the printer driver 50 returns the calculated area to the application.
- the printable area returned to the application 30 is a virtual area used only in processes performed by the application 30 .
- this virtual area will be referred to as a virtual print area.
- the layout creating function 33 actually lays out a user-created document in the virtual print area acquired from the sheet data acquiring function 32 .
- the layout creating function 33 includes an object size calculating function 331 , a coordinate calculating function 332 , a determining function 333 , and a layout function 334 . These functions calculate the size of each of objects in the document and then compare the size of the object to the size of the virtual print area to create a layout.
- an object refers to text, photographs, or graphics included in the document.
- the command function 34 issues a command to the printer driver 50 to perform a print according to the layout created by the layout creating function 33 . Based on the command from the command function 34 , the layout created by the layout creating function 33 is sent to the printer 7 via the graphics engine 40 and the printer driver 50 to be printed by the printer 7 . Alternatively, the command function 34 issues a command to the printer driver 50 to perform document data generated by the application 30 in response to the user operation.
- the graphics engine 40 is executed by the host computer 1 to implement a reducing function 41 .
- the graphics engine 40 stores reduction ratios calculated in the printer driver 50 .
- the command function 34 issues a command to the printer driver 50
- the reducing function 41 reduces the layout created by the layout creating function 33 by the reduction ratio.
- the reducing function 41 reduces document data sent from the application 30 .
- the printer driver 50 is controlled by the host computer 1 to implement a printing option setting function 51 a , a sheet size acquiring function 51 , a printable area calculating function 52 , a post-process print area calculating function 53 , a reduction ratio calculating function 54 , a virtual print area calculating function 55 , a print data outputting function 56 , a drawing function 57 , and a developing function 58 .
- the printing option setting function 51 a is activated by the user operation.
- a user can open a window on the display 16 and select one of the printing options.
- the printing options include three (3) options: a binding margin option, an N-in-1 print option, and a simple scaling option.
- the binding margin option is the operation by which a binding margin is established on a sheet when the sheet is printed.
- the N-in-1 print option is the operation in which one sheet is divided into N equal portions and document data is reduced and positioned in each of the N areas so that N pages worth of document data can be printed on a single sheet.
- the simple scaling option is the operation in which the document data to be printed on one page is enlarged or reduced while maintaining an aspect ration thereof and then printed on a sheet.
- the user When selecting the N-in-1 print, the user opens a window on the display 16 and performs the N-in-1 print setting using the process setting function 51 a .
- the user When selecting the simple scaling option, the user opens a window on the display 16 and performs the scaling setting using the process setting function 51 a.
- the sheet size acquiring function 51 acquires the sheet size that has been set by the sheet size setting function 31 .
- the printable area calculating function 52 references the sheet size acquired by the sheet size acquiring function 51 to calculate the printable area of the sheet size.
- the printable area is calculated by subtracting areas that cannot be printed by the printer 7 (hereinafter referred to as unprintable areas) from the dimensions of the sheet.
- the unprintable areas are inherent in the printer 7 and are possessed by the printer driver 50 .
- the post-process print area calculating function 53 calculates the area on a sheet on which the document data created on the application 30 can be actually printed in accordance with the selected option.
- the area calculated by the post-process print area calculating function 53 will be referred to as the post-process print area.
- the post-process print area is calculated by subtracting the overlapped area between the printable area and the binding area from the printable area.
- the post-process print area is calculated by dividing the printable area by the numeral: N.
- the reduction ratio calculating function 54 calculates a reduction ratio to reduce and achieve the maximum occupation of the printable area in the post-process print area while maintaining the aspect ratio of the printable area.
- the virtual print area calculating function 55 divides the post-process print area by the reduction ratio to calculate a virtual print area.
- the resultant area is defined as a virtual print area.
- the print data outputting function 56 transmits the dimensions of the virtual print area and the dimensions of the virtual sheet that includes the virtual print area (hereinafter referred to as a virtual sheet size) to the application 30 .
- the transmitted data also includes the reduction ratio calculated by the reduction ratio calculating function 54 . This reduction ratio is stored on the graphics engine 40 when transmitted to the application 30 .
- the drawing function 57 receives commands issued by the command function 34 in the application 30 via the graphics engine 40 and interprets the content of the commands.
- the developing function 58 develops (rasterizes) the content of the commands interpreted by the drawing function 57 into PDL which can be interpreted by the printer 7 .
- the PDL data developed by the developing function 58 is subsequently transmitted to the printer 7 via the communication cable 9 .
- a print command function is configured of the command function 34 , the reducing function 41 , the drawing function 57 , and the developing function 58 .
- FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process by the application 30 to request sheet data from the printer driver 5 .
- the sheet size setting function 31 sets the sheet size of the document.
- the sheet size is set through the user operations. More specifically, the user opens a sheet size setting window on the display 16 and then sets the sheet size.
- the sheet data acquiring function 32 of the application 30 transmits the sheet size set by the sheet size setting function 31 to the printer driver 50 via the graphics engine 40 to request the sheet data corresponding to this sheet size.
- the process by the application 30 is finished. Subsequently, the process advances to S 401 of FIG. 4 .
- FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing steps in a process performed by the printer driver 50 in response to the sheet size received from the application 30 .
- the sheet size acquiring function 51 of the printer driver 50 receives the sheet size from the application 30 .
- the printable area calculating function 52 calculates the printable area that is predetermined for the acquired sheet size.
- the printable area is defined by subtracting the unprintable areas from the area of the sheet.
- the unprintable areas are areas that the printer 7 cannot print on in a printing process, and inevitably remain blank.
- FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of the printable area.
- the dimensions of the sheet are indicated as 11 inches vertically and 8.5 inches horizontally, where one inch is equivalent to 2.54 cm. Since the dimension of the unprintable area on the top and bottom of the sheet is ⁇ fraction (1/6) ⁇ inches and the dimension of the unprintable area on the left and right sides of the sheet is ⁇ fraction (1/4) ⁇ inches then the dimensions of the printable area are 8 inches horizontally (8.5 inches- ⁇ fraction (2/4) ⁇ inches) and 64/6 inches vertically (11 inches- ⁇ fraction (2/6) ⁇ inches).
- the binding option is selected by the user operation through the print option setting function 51 a .
- the print option setting function 51 a establishes a binding margin and asks the user to enter the width and the place on the sheet.
- the post-process print area calculating function 53 calculates the area that can actually be printed within the printable area when the binding option has been set.
- the above area is defined as s post-process print area.
- the post-process print area is obtained by subtracting the overlapped area between the printable area and the binding area from the printable area.
- FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of the post-process print area. As shown in FIG. 6 , the binding area is indicated with a width of ⁇ fraction (3/4) ⁇ inches. In this embodiment, the post-process print area is obtained at 7.5 inches horizontally (8.5 inches-1 inch), and 64/6 inches vertically.
- the reduction ratio calculating function 54 calculates the reduction ratio for the printable area in order that the printable area can be reduced maintaining the aspect ratio thereof in order to achieve the maximum occupation within the post-process print area.
- the reduction ratio is required to be calculated while maintaining the aspect ratio of the printable area.
- FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the printable area that has been reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio.
- the aspect ratio of the post-process print area is generally changed from the aspect ratio of the printable area, after the binding area is removed from the printable area.
- the post-process print area of FIG. 6 is compared to the printable area of FIG. 5 , only the widthwise dimension of the post-process print area has decreased from the widthwise dimension of the printable area.
- the reduction ratio is obtained as 75/80 in this embodiment.
- the virtual print area calculating function 55 calculates the virtual print area by dividing the post-process print area by the reduction ratio calculated by the reduction ratio calculating function 54 .
- FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the virtual print area. In this embodiment, the 7.5-inch width and 64/6-inch length of the post-process print area is divided by the aforementioned reduction ratio of 75/80, respectively. As a result, the virtual print area is calculated to have an 8 inch horizontal width and a 512/45 inch vertical length.
- the reduction ratio, the dimensions of the virtual print area, and the dimensions of the virtual sheet size are sent as sheet data to the application 30 via the graphics engine 40 .
- the virtual sheet size is defined by adding the aforementioned unprintable areas ( ⁇ fraction (1/6) ⁇ inches on the top and bottom and ⁇ fraction (1/4) ⁇ inches on the left and right) to the top, bottom, left, and right of the virtual print area calculated by the virtual print area calculating function 55 .
- the dimensions of the virtual sheet size are set to a width of 8.5 inches and a height of 527/45 inches, as shown in FIG. 8 .
- the reduction ratio is stored on the graphics engine 40 . Subsequently, the process advances to S 501 of FIG. 9 .
- FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the steps of a process executed by the application 30 to create a layout for document data and issue a print command to the printer driver 50 .
- a layout creation process is executed in S 501 .
- the layout is created based on the virtual print area described above.
- the application 30 recognizes the dimensions of the virtual sheet size received from the printer driver 50 as the actual dimensions of the sheet that will be printed by the printer 7 , and further recognizes the actual dimensions of the virtual print area as the area that can be printed by the printer 7 .
- the layout creation process of S 501 will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 10 .
- the layout creation process is executed by the layout creating function 33 .
- the layout creating function 33 calculates a printing start position on the sheet.
- the printing start position is calculated by the coordinate calculating function 332 based on the virtual print area acquired by the sheet data acquiring function 32 .
- the printing start point is assigned to the point of the coordinates (X 0 , Y 0 ) in the upper left corner of the virtual print area, as shown in FIG. 8 .
- the layout creating function 33 calculates the area occupied by the first object to be laid out in the virtual print area.
- the occupied area of the object is calculated by the object size calculating function 331 .
- the layout creating function 33 determines whether the virtual print area can accommodate the occupied area calculated above. Specifically, the layout creating function 33 determines whether the virtual print area can accommodate the area occupied by the object when the object is placed with reference to the coordinates (X 0 , Y 0 ) calculated by the coordinate calculating function 332 . If the layout creating function 33 determines that the virtual print area does not accommodate the object (S 703 : NO), then a page break is inserted in S 704 and the process of S 701 is executed on a new page.
- the layout creating function 33 determines that the virtual print area accommodates the object (S 703 : YES), in S 705 the object is laid out with reference to the point of the coordinates (X 0 , Y 0 ).
- the above layout process is executed by the layout function 334 .
- the coordinate calculating function 332 calculates a printing start position (X 1 , Y 1 ) for laying out the next object.
- the layout creating function 33 determines whether another object exists in the document data. If the layout creating function 33 determines that another object exists in the document data (S 707 : YES), then the layout creating function 33 returns to S 702 to calculate the area occupied by the next object, and repeats the process described above. On the other hand; if the layout creating function 33 determines that no other object exists in the document data (S 707 : NO), then the layout creation process ends. Subsequently, the process advanced to S 502 of FIG. 9 .
- the application 30 issues a command to the printer driver 50 to perform a print based on the layout created in S 501 .
- the document data undergoing this process by the layout creating function 33 is transmitted to the printer driver 50 by the command function 34 .
- the application 30 transmits the laid out document data to the printer driver 50 as a graphics device interface (GDI) function through the graphics engine 40 .
- the process of S 502 is executed by the command function 34 of the application 30 .
- the reducing function 41 of the graphics engine 40 reduces the document data using the reduction ratio calculated by the reduction ratio calculating function 54 . Subsequently, the process advances to S 601 of FIG. 11 .
- FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure by the printer driver 50 to perform a printing process based on the layout created by the application 30 .
- the printer driver 50 converts the document data transmitted from the application 30 into PDL data that is suitable for printing.
- the drawing function 57 interprets the command based on the function received from the application 30 .
- the GDI function received from the application 30 is converted to a device driver interface (DDI) function by the graphics engine 40 .
- the drawing function 57 interprets the command based on the DDI function received from the graphics engine 40 and then performs a pre-process to change the command into PDL.
- the developing function 58 develops (rasterizes) the interpreted command content into PDL data.
- FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the printed sheet by the printing process described above.
- FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the printed sheet by a conventional printing system.
- the document data is printed by reducing the document data with the reduction ratio which is calculated in order that the original printable area can be reduced within the post-process area while maintaining the aspect ratio.
- the blank area formed on the conventionally printed sheet is not formed on the top and bottom of the sheet in this embodiment.
- the blank area which is neither the binding are nor the unprintable area remains on the upper and lower portions in the printable area of the sheet.
- the entire area on the sheet other than the binding area and the unprintable area is used for printing the document data.
- the printing method of this embodiment is able to eliminate these unnecessary spaces because the application 30 creates a layout in the virtual print area provided by the printer driver 50 . In other words, the application 30 arranges document data from subsequent pages in areas that become spaces in the conventional example.
- the printer 7 can perform a printing operation to achieve a printed product conforming to the user's expectations.
- the printable area of the sheet can be effectively used for printing reduced document data with avoid producing unnecessary spaces, when the user has selected the binding option.
- the printing system 100 avoids the generation of unnecessary spaces on the printed sheet, even when the printable area of the sheet is modified by settings for margin areas.
- the printing system 100 prevents objects in documents from being cut off in the middle when printed on the sheet.
- the printing system 100 can effectively use the printable area on the sheet, when the document includes a mix of text, photos, or graphics.
- the printing system 100 enables the user to perform different types of printing operation while maintaining the original layout of the document data.
- the N-in-1 printing option is selected by the user.
- the user opens a window on the display 16 and sets the N-in-1 printing option through the print option setting function 51 a.
- the post-process print area calculating function 53 calculates the area in which the document data is actually printed when the user selects the N-in-1 printing option.
- the sheet size is set by the user operation through the application 30 , and then transmitted to the printer driver 50 .
- FIG. 14 a process shown in FIG. 14 is performed by the printer driver 50 .
- the process of FIG. 14 is similar to the process of FIG. 4 which is performed when a biding margin option is selected.
- the sheet size acquiring function 51 of the printer driver 50 receives the sheet size from the application 30 .
- the printable area calculating function 52 calculates the printable area that is predetermined for the acquired sheet size. As shown in FIG. 5 , the dimensions of the sheet are indicated as 11 inches vertically and 8.5 inches horizontally. Since the dimension of the unprintable area on the top and bottom of the sheet is ⁇ fraction (1/6) ⁇ inches and the dimension of the unprintable area on the left and right sides of the sheet is ⁇ fraction (1/4) ⁇ inches then the dimensions of the printable area are 8 inches horizontally (8.5 inches- ⁇ fraction (2/4) ⁇ inches) and 64/6 inches vertically (11 inches- ⁇ fraction (2/6) ⁇ inches).
- the user can set the N-in-1 printing option in a window displayed on the display 16 when executing a printing operation.
- the N-in-1 print option is selected by the user operation through the print option setting function 51 a .
- the print option setting function 51 a asks the user to enter the number of N.
- the post-process print area calculating function 53 calculates the area within the printable area that can actually be printed when the N-in-1 printing function has been set.
- the post-process print area calculating function 53 calculates the post-process print area by setting the vertical dimension of the printable area to one-half the current size.
- FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example of the post-process print area when the 2-in-1 printing option has been selected. In this embodiment, the post-process print area has been calculated as 8 inches vertically and 32/6 inches. (64/16 inches ⁇ fraction (1/2) ⁇ ) horizontally.
- the reduction ratio calculating function 54 calculates the reduction ratio for the printable area in order that the printable area can be reduced maintaining the aspect ratio thereof to achieve the maximum occupation within the post-process print area.
- FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the printable area which is reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio thereof. In this embodiment, since both the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the post-process print area in FIG. 15 have been modified from the dimensions of the printable area, the reduction ratio calculating function 54 determines which reduction ratio is smaller, the vertical one or the horizontal one. In FIG.
- the horizontal reduction ratio of 32/48 is obtained by dividing the 32/6-inch horizontal dimension of the post-process print area by the 8-inch horizontal dimension of the printable area
- the vertical reduction ratio of 48/64 is obtained by dividing the 8 inch vertical dimension of the post-process print area by the 64/6 inch vertical dimension of the printable area. Since 32/48 is smaller than 48/64, the horizontal reduction ratio of 32/48 reduces the printable area to achieve the maximum occupation within the post-process print area while maintaining the aspect ratio of the printable area. Accordingly, the reduction ratio calculating function 54 calculates the reduction ratio to be 32/48.
- the virtual print area calculating function 55 calculates the virtual print area by dividing the post-process print area by the reduction ratio.
- FIG. 17 shows the virtual print area obtained by the virtual print area calculating function 55 .
- the virtual print area calculating function 55 calculates the virtual print area to be 8 inches wide and 12 inches long.
- the printer driver 50 sends the reduction ratio, the dimensions of the virtual print area, and the dimensions of the virtual sheet size to the application 30 via the graphics engine 40 .
- the dimensions of the virtual sheet size are 8.5 inches wide and 74/6 inches long, as shown in FIG. 17 .
- the reduction ratio is stored in the graphics engine 40 .
- the process advances to S 501 of FIG. 9 .
- the subsequent process is the same as that of the first embodiment in which the binding margin option is selected.
- FIG. 18 is a plan view showing the printed sheet by the printing process described above.
- FIG. 19 is a plan view showing the printed sheet by a conventional printing system.
- the document data is printed by reducing the document data with the reduction ratio which is calculated in order that the original printable area can be reduced within the post-process area while maintaining the aspect ratio.
- the blank area formed on the left and right of the sheet (the upper and lower portions on the divided sheet) by the conventional printing system is not formed on the left and right of the sheet in this embodiment.
- the blank area which is not the unprintable area is generated in the printable area of the sheet.
- the entire area on the sheet other than the unprintable area is used for printing 2 pages worth of document data on a single sheet of sheet.
- the printing method of this embodiment is able to eliminate these unnecessary spaces because the application 30 creates a layout in the virtual print area provided by the printer driver 50 . In other words, the application 30 arranges document data from subsequent pages in areas that become spaces in the conventional example.
- the printer 7 can perform a printing operation to achieve a printed product conforming to the user's expectations.
- the printable area of the sheet can be effectively used for printing reduced document data with avoid producing unnecessary spaces, when the user has selected the N-in-1 print option.
- the printing system 100 avoids the generation of unnecessary spaces on the printed sheet
- the printing system 100 prevents objects in documents from being cut off in the middle when printed on the sheet.
- the printing system 100 can effectively use the printable area on the sheet, when the document includes a mix of text, photos, or graphics.
- the printing system 100 enables the user to perform different types of printing operation while maintaining the original layout of the document data.
- the simple scaling option is selected by the user.
- the user opens a window on the display 16 and sets the simple scaling option through the print option setting function 51 a.
- the user can establish a binding margin, or enter the command to divide a sheet into N portions to print N pages worth of document data in the sheet.
- the sheet size is set by the user operation through the application 30 , and then transmitted to the printer driver 50 .
- a process shown in FIG. 20 is performed by the printer driver 50 .
- the sheet size acquiring function 51 of the printer driver 50 receives the sheet size from the application 30 .
- the printable area calculating function 52 calculates the printable area that is predetermined for the acquired sheet size.
- the user can set the simple scaling option in a window displayed on the display 16 when executing a printing operation.
- the simple scaling option is selected by the user operation through the print option setting function 51 a .
- the print option setting function 51 a asks the user to enter a binding margin or a desired printing area.
- the post-process print area calculating function 53 calculates the area within the printable area that can actually be printed, the post-process print area.
- the post-process print area is obtained by subtracting the overlapped area between the printable area and the binding area from the printable area.
- the reduction ratio calculating function 54 calculates the reduction ratio for the printable area in order that the printable area can be reduced maintaining the aspect ratio thereof to achieve the maximum occupation within the post-process print area.
- the printer driver reduces the document data transmitted from the application 30 by the reduction ratio.
- the reduced document data is printed on the sheet by the printer 7 in order to avoid the reduced document data from printing on the binding margin.
- the printing system 100 can print the reduced document data without laying out the document data using the layout creating function 33 of the first and second embodiments.
- the printing system 100 can perform a printing operation in the option selected by the user.
- the objects shown in the drawings of the embodiment described above represent only text, these objects may also be photographs or graphics. Further, the dimensions of various areas, including the dimensions of the sheet size, the dimensions of the unprintable areas, and the dimensions of the binding area, may be modified as needed.
Abstract
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to a print controller capable of printing documents while maintaining an aspect ration thereof without wasting a sheet, even when the printable area on the sheet is modified.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- Japanese unexamined patent application publication No. 11-99724 discloses a print layout device that reduces the print data so that the data can be arranged within the printable area of the sheet, when setting margins to accommodate bindings.
- This print layout device includes means for setting the margins for the sheet; means for calculating the printable area on the sheet based on the margins set by the setting means; means for enlarging or reducing the print data to fit the calculated printable area to the printable area; and means for laying out the enlarged or reduced print data according to the specified margins and for controlling the printer to print according to this layout. The enlarging/reducing means of this print layout device is configured to enlarge or reduce the print data while maintaining the aspect ratio of the original print data.
- However, the conventional technology described above has the following problem. Spaces with no printing are often formed in the top and bottom or left and right portions of the layout because the image data is enlarged or contracted while maintaining the aspect ratio.
- In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a print controller capable of laying out print data for documents in the printable area and controlling the printing operation to avoid the generation of unnecessary space on the sheet.
- The print controller according to the present invention is characterized by including: a first area calculating unit that subtracts an unprintable area from a sheet to calculate a first area having a prescribed aspect ratio; a margin setting unit that sets a margin in the sheet; a second area calculating unit that subtracts an overlapped area between the margin and the first area from the first area to calculate a second area: a reduction ratio calculating unit that calculates a reduction ratio of the first area so that the first area can be reduced while maintaining the prescribed aspect ratio to achieve a maximum occupation within the second area; a third area calculating unit that divides the second area by the reduction ratio to calculate a third area which is broader than the second area; a laying out unit that sets the third area as a printable area to lay out document data within the third area; and a first print commanding unit that reduces the document data laid out in the third area by the reduction ratio to issue a command for printing the reduced document data on the second area.
- The print controller according to the present invention is characterized by including: a first area calculating unit that subtracts an unprintable area from a sheet to calculate a first area having a prescribed aspect ratio; a divided print setting unit that selects a divided print to print on an area of the sheet divided by a number of N; a second area calculating unit that multiplies the first area by a ratio of 1/N to calculate a second area; a reduction ratio calculating unit that calculates a reduction ratio for the first area so that the first area can be reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio to achieve a maximum occupation in the second area; a third area calculating unit that divides the second area by the reduction ratio to calculate a third area which is broader than the second area: a laying out unit that lays out document data in the third area as a printable area; and a first print commanding unit that reduces the document data in the third area laid out by the laying out means by the reduction ratio to issue a command to print the reduced document data in the second area.
- The print controller according to the present invention is characterized by including: means for subtracting an unprintable area from a sheet to obtain a printable area having an aspect ratio, the unprintable area having a width; means for setting a desired printing area within the printable area; means for calculating a reduction ratio for the printable area so that the printable area can be reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio to achieve a maximum occupation within the desired printing area means for dividing the desired printing area by the reduction ratio to obtain a virtual area; means for laying out document data with the virtual area; and means for reducing the virtual area including the laid out document data by the reduction ratio to issue a command to print the reduced document data on the desired printing area.
- The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from reading the following description of the preferred embodiments taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
-
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of aprinting system 100 according to the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functions implemented by aCPU 10 under different programs stored in anexternal memory 18; -
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the steps in a process executed by anapplication 30 to request sheet data from aprinter driver 50, -
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the steps in a process executed by theprinter driver 50 in response to a sheet size received from theapplication 30; -
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a printable area; -
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example post-process print area according to the first embodiment; -
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the printable area according to the first embodiment that has been reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio thereof; -
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a virtual print area according to the first embodiment; -
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the steps in a process by theapplication 30 to lay out document data, create a layout, and issue a print command to theprinter driver 50; -
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing steps in a layout creation process ofFIG. 9 ; -
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing steps in a printing process executed by theprinter driver 50 based on the layout created by theapplication 30; -
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing one example of a printing operation performed by theprinting system 100 according to the first embodiment; -
FIG. 13 is a plan view showing one example of a printing operation according to the conventional printing system; -
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the steps in a process executed by theprinter driver 50 in response to a sheet size received from theapplication 30 in a second embodiment; -
FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example of a post-process print area according to the second embodiment; -
FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the printable area according to the second embodiment that has been reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio thereof; -
FIG. 17 is a plan view showing a virtual print area according to the second embodiment; -
FIG. 18 is a plan view showing an example of a printing operation performed by theprinting system 100 according to the second embodiment; -
FIG. 19 is a plan view showing an example of a printing operation according to the conventional system; and -
FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the steps in a process executed by anapplication 30 according to a third embodiment. - The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described while referring to the drawings.
- The configuration of a
printing system 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram ofFIG. 1 . - The
printing system 100 includes ahost computer 1 and aprinter 7. Thehost computer 1 and theprinter 7 are connected via a communication cable 9. - The
host computer 1 includes aCPU 10, aROM 11, aRAM 12, akeyboard controller 13, adisplay controller 15, a disk controller 17, and aprinter controller 19. The above components of thehost computer 1 are connected to asystem bus 20. Thehost computer 1 further includes akeyboard 14 connected to thekeyboard controller 13, adisplay 16 connected to thedisplay controller 15, and anexternal memory 18 connected to the disk controller 17. - The
CPU 10 is a central processing unit for controlling overall operations of each component which is connected to thesystem bus 20. TheCPU 10 executes a document creation process to create a document including text, photographs, or graphics based on a word processing program stored in theROM 11. - The
CPU 10 receives commands that a user indicates through a mouse cursor on thedisplay 16 and then opens various windows registered for the command to execute different data processes. To execute a printing process using theprinter 7, the user can open a printer option window to set options for a printer driver 50 (not shown) - The
ROM 11 stores an operating system (OS) program for controlling theCPU 10; various programs for word processing, and data for fonts used in word processing. - The
RAM 12 primarily functions as a work area that theCPU 10 uses when theCPU 10 executes the various programs stored in theROM 11. - The
keyboard controller 13 controls input from keys on thekeyboard 14. Thedisplay controller 15 controls the content displayed on thedisplay 16. The disk controller 17 controls memory accesses between theCPU 10 and theexternal memory 18. Theprinter controller 19 executes a communication control process to control communications between thehost computer 1 and theprinter 7. - The
keyboard 14 includes various keys. Thedisplay 16 displays text, photographs, or graphics. Theexternal memory 18 is configured of a hard disk for storing theprinter driver 50. - Next, the components of the
printer 7 will be described. Theprinter 7 includes aCPU 70, aROM 71, aRAM 72, aninput unit 73, aprinting unit interface 74, and anoperating unit 76. The above components of theprinter 7 are connected to asystem bus 77. Theprinter 7 further includes aprinting unit 75 connected to theprinting unit interface 74. - The
CPU 70 is a central processing unit for controlling the overall functions of all components which are connected to thesystem bus 77. TheCPU 70 outputs image signals to theprinting unit 75 as output data based on control programs stored in theROM 71. TheCPU 70 can also communicate with thehost computer 1 via theinput unit 73 in order to notify thehost computer 1 of information regarding theprinter 7. - The
ROM 71 stores control programs for theCPU 70 and data for fonts used when theprinter 7 creates output data. TheRAM 72 functions as a work area for theCPU 70. - The
input unit 73 facilitates data transmission and reception between theprinter 7 and thehost computer 1. Theprinting unit interface 74 facilitates data transmission and reception between theCPU 70 and theprinting unit 75. Theprinting unit 75 performs printing operations under the control of theCPU 70. The operatingunit 76 includes switches and a display for facilitating various operations. -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing functions that theCPU 10 implements by various programs stored in theexternal memory 18. - As shown in
FIG. 2 , thehost computer 1 includes anapplication 30, agraphics engine 40, and theprinter driver 50 that are stored in theexternal memory 18 ofFIG. 1 . Theapplication 30, thegraphics engine 40, and theprinter driver 50 are programs which are loaded into theRAM 12 and executed by the OS. - The
application 30 and theprinter driver 50 can be stored in the hard disk of theexternal memory 18 from a floppy (registered trademark) disk or a CD-ROM. Theapplication 30 which is stored in theexternal memory 18 is loaded theRAM 12 and executed. Similarly, thegraphics engine 40 has been loaded to theRAM 12 and ready for the implementation. A printing process is performed by using thegraphics engine 40 when theapplication 30 issues a print command to theprinter 7 to perform a printing operation. - During the printing process, both the
graphics engine 40 and theprinter driver 50, which is provided for theprinter 7, are loaded from theexternal memory 18 into theRAM 12. Output from theapplication 30 is sent to theprinter driver 50. Thegraphics engine 40 converts functions received from theapplication 30 into functions for theprinter driver 50 and outputs the converted functions. Theprinter driver 50 converts the functions received from thegraphics engine 40 into control commands such as a Page Description Language (PDL) which can be recognized by theprinter 7. The converted control commands are sent to theprinter 7 via an interface by the OS. - Next, the functions of the
application 30, thegraphics engine 40, and theprinter driver 50 will be described in detail. - The
application 30 is executed by thehost computer 1 to implement the following functions. As shown inFIG. 2 , theapplication 30 implements, a sheetsize setting function 31, a sheetdata acquiring function 32, alayout creating function 33, and acommand function 34. - The sheet
size setting function 31 sets the size of sheet used for word processing through user operations. After starting theapplication 30 to create a document, the user opens a window on the screen and sets the size of the document through the sheetsize setting function 31. - The sheet
data acquiring function 32 acquires data related to the sheet size from theprinter driver 50 based on the sheet size set by the sheetsize setting function 31. This sheet size data includes the dimensions of the sheet, and dimensions of the area within the sheet that can actually be printed by theprinter 7. Hereinafter, this data will be referred to as sheet data. Specifically, the sheetdata acquiring function 32 transmits the sheet size set by the sheetsize setting function 31 to theprinter driver 50 via thegraphics engine 40. Theprinter driver 50 calculates the area within the sheet that theprinter 7 can print based on the sheet size set by theapplication 30. Theprinter driver 50 returns the calculated area to the application. In this embodiment, the printable area returned to theapplication 30 is a virtual area used only in processes performed by theapplication 30. Hereinafter, this virtual area will be referred to as a virtual print area. - The
layout creating function 33 actually lays out a user-created document in the virtual print area acquired from the sheetdata acquiring function 32. Thelayout creating function 33 includes an objectsize calculating function 331, a coordinate calculatingfunction 332, a determiningfunction 333, and alayout function 334. These functions calculate the size of each of objects in the document and then compare the size of the object to the size of the virtual print area to create a layout. In the present invention, an object refers to text, photographs, or graphics included in the document. - The
command function 34 issues a command to theprinter driver 50 to perform a print according to the layout created by thelayout creating function 33. Based on the command from thecommand function 34, the layout created by thelayout creating function 33 is sent to theprinter 7 via thegraphics engine 40 and theprinter driver 50 to be printed by theprinter 7. Alternatively, thecommand function 34 issues a command to theprinter driver 50 to perform document data generated by theapplication 30 in response to the user operation. - The
graphics engine 40 is executed by thehost computer 1 to implement a reducingfunction 41. Thegraphics engine 40 stores reduction ratios calculated in theprinter driver 50. When thecommand function 34 issues a command to theprinter driver 50, the reducingfunction 41 reduces the layout created by thelayout creating function 33 by the reduction ratio. Alternatively, the reducingfunction 41 reduces document data sent from theapplication 30. - The
printer driver 50 is controlled by thehost computer 1 to implement a printingoption setting function 51 a, a sheetsize acquiring function 51, a printablearea calculating function 52, a post-process printarea calculating function 53, a reductionratio calculating function 54, a virtual printarea calculating function 55, a printdata outputting function 56, adrawing function 57, and a developingfunction 58. - The printing
option setting function 51 a is activated by the user operation. When executing a printing operation after creating a document; a user can open a window on thedisplay 16 and select one of the printing options. - The printing options include three (3) options: a binding margin option, an N-in-1 print option, and a simple scaling option. The binding margin option is the operation by which a binding margin is established on a sheet when the sheet is printed. The N-in-1 print option is the operation in which one sheet is divided into N equal portions and document data is reduced and positioned in each of the N areas so that N pages worth of document data can be printed on a single sheet. The simple scaling option is the operation in which the document data to be printed on one page is enlarged or reduced while maintaining an aspect ration thereof and then printed on a sheet. When selecting the binding margin, the user opens a window on the
display 16 and performs the binding setting using theprocess setting function 51 a. When selecting the N-in-1 print, the user opens a window on thedisplay 16 and performs the N-in-1 print setting using theprocess setting function 51 a. When selecting the simple scaling option, the user opens a window on thedisplay 16 and performs the scaling setting using theprocess setting function 51 a. - The sheet
size acquiring function 51 acquires the sheet size that has been set by the sheetsize setting function 31. - The printable
area calculating function 52 references the sheet size acquired by the sheetsize acquiring function 51 to calculate the printable area of the sheet size. The printable area is calculated by subtracting areas that cannot be printed by the printer 7 (hereinafter referred to as unprintable areas) from the dimensions of the sheet. The unprintable areas are inherent in theprinter 7 and are possessed by theprinter driver 50. - The post-process print
area calculating function 53 calculates the area on a sheet on which the document data created on theapplication 30 can be actually printed in accordance with the selected option. Hereinafter, the area calculated by the post-process printarea calculating function 53 will be referred to as the post-process print area. When the binding margin option is selected, the post-process print area is calculated by subtracting the overlapped area between the printable area and the binding area from the printable area. When the N-in-1 print option is selected, the post-process print area is calculated by dividing the printable area by the numeral: N. - The reduction
ratio calculating function 54 calculates a reduction ratio to reduce and achieve the maximum occupation of the printable area in the post-process print area while maintaining the aspect ratio of the printable area. - The virtual print
area calculating function 55 divides the post-process print area by the reduction ratio to calculate a virtual print area. The resultant area is defined as a virtual print area. - The print
data outputting function 56 transmits the dimensions of the virtual print area and the dimensions of the virtual sheet that includes the virtual print area (hereinafter referred to as a virtual sheet size) to theapplication 30. The transmitted data also includes the reduction ratio calculated by the reductionratio calculating function 54. This reduction ratio is stored on thegraphics engine 40 when transmitted to theapplication 30. - The
drawing function 57 receives commands issued by thecommand function 34 in theapplication 30 via thegraphics engine 40 and interprets the content of the commands. - The developing
function 58 develops (rasterizes) the content of the commands interpreted by thedrawing function 57 into PDL which can be interpreted by theprinter 7. The PDL data developed by the developingfunction 58 is subsequently transmitted to theprinter 7 via the communication cable 9. - In this embodiment, a print command function is configured of the
command function 34, the reducingfunction 41, thedrawing function 57, and the developingfunction 58. - Next, the first embodiment of the operations implemented by the
host computer 1 will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts inFIGS. 3, 4 , and 9-11. First, the operation will be described when the user selects the binding margin option.FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process by theapplication 30 to request sheet data from the printer driver 5. - In step 301, the sheet
size setting function 31 sets the sheet size of the document. The sheet size is set through the user operations. More specifically, the user opens a sheet size setting window on thedisplay 16 and then sets the sheet size. - In S302 the sheet
data acquiring function 32 of theapplication 30 transmits the sheet size set by the sheetsize setting function 31 to theprinter driver 50 via thegraphics engine 40 to request the sheet data corresponding to this sheet size. The process by theapplication 30 is finished. Subsequently, the process advances to S401 ofFIG. 4 . -
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing steps in a process performed by theprinter driver 50 in response to the sheet size received from theapplication 30. - In S401 the sheet
size acquiring function 51 of theprinter driver 50 receives the sheet size from theapplication 30. - In S402 the printable
area calculating function 52 calculates the printable area that is predetermined for the acquired sheet size. The printable area is defined by subtracting the unprintable areas from the area of the sheet. The unprintable areas are areas that theprinter 7 cannot print on in a printing process, and inevitably remain blank. -
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of the printable area. As shown inFIG. 5 , the dimensions of the sheet are indicated as 11 inches vertically and 8.5 inches horizontally, where one inch is equivalent to 2.54 cm. Since the dimension of the unprintable area on the top and bottom of the sheet is {fraction (1/6)} inches and the dimension of the unprintable area on the left and right sides of the sheet is {fraction (1/4)} inches then the dimensions of the printable area are 8 inches horizontally (8.5 inches-{fraction (2/4)} inches) and 64/6 inches vertically (11 inches-{fraction (2/6)} inches). - In S403 the binding option is selected by the user operation through the print
option setting function 51 a. The printoption setting function 51 a establishes a binding margin and asks the user to enter the width and the place on the sheet. - In S404 the post-process print
area calculating function 53 calculates the area that can actually be printed within the printable area when the binding option has been set. The above area is defined as s post-process print area. When the user has selected the binding option, the post-process print area is obtained by subtracting the overlapped area between the printable area and the binding area from the printable area.FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of the post-process print area. As shown inFIG. 6 , the binding area is indicated with a width of {fraction (3/4)} inches. In this embodiment, the post-process print area is obtained at 7.5 inches horizontally (8.5 inches-1 inch), and 64/6 inches vertically. - In S405 the reduction
ratio calculating function 54 calculates the reduction ratio for the printable area in order that the printable area can be reduced maintaining the aspect ratio thereof in order to achieve the maximum occupation within the post-process print area. The reduction ratio is required to be calculated while maintaining the aspect ratio of the printable area. -
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the printable area that has been reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio. The aspect ratio of the post-process print area is generally changed from the aspect ratio of the printable area, after the binding area is removed from the printable area. When the post-process print area ofFIG. 6 is compared to the printable area ofFIG. 5 , only the widthwise dimension of the post-process print area has decreased from the widthwise dimension of the printable area. In order to calculate the reduction ratio, it is understandable that the 7.5-inch width dimension of the post-process print area is divided by the 8-inch width dimension of the printable area. Thus, the reduction ratio is obtained as 75/80 in this embodiment. - In S406 the virtual print
area calculating function 55 calculates the virtual print area by dividing the post-process print area by the reduction ratio calculated by the reductionratio calculating function 54.FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the virtual print area. In this embodiment, the 7.5-inch width and 64/6-inch length of the post-process print area is divided by the aforementioned reduction ratio of 75/80, respectively. As a result, the virtual print area is calculated to have an 8 inch horizontal width and a 512/45 inch vertical length. - In S407 the reduction ratio, the dimensions of the virtual print area, and the dimensions of the virtual sheet size are sent as sheet data to the
application 30 via thegraphics engine 40. The virtual sheet size is defined by adding the aforementioned unprintable areas ({fraction (1/6)} inches on the top and bottom and {fraction (1/4)} inches on the left and right) to the top, bottom, left, and right of the virtual print area calculated by the virtual printarea calculating function 55. Specifically, the dimensions of the virtual sheet size are set to a width of 8.5 inches and a height of 527/45 inches, as shown inFIG. 8 . When this data is sent to theapplication 30, the reduction ratio is stored on thegraphics engine 40. Subsequently, the process advances to S501 ofFIG. 9 . -
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the steps of a process executed by theapplication 30 to create a layout for document data and issue a print command to theprinter driver 50. - At the beginning of this process, a layout creation process is executed in S501. The layout is created based on the virtual print area described above. The
application 30 recognizes the dimensions of the virtual sheet size received from theprinter driver 50 as the actual dimensions of the sheet that will be printed by theprinter 7, and further recognizes the actual dimensions of the virtual print area as the area that can be printed by theprinter 7. The layout creation process of S501 will be described in detail below with reference toFIG. 10 . - In
FIG. 10 , the layout creation process is executed by thelayout creating function 33. - In S701 the
layout creating function 33 calculates a printing start position on the sheet. The printing start position is calculated by the coordinate calculatingfunction 332 based on the virtual print area acquired by the sheetdata acquiring function 32. Specifically, the printing start point is assigned to the point of the coordinates (X0, Y0) in the upper left corner of the virtual print area, as shown inFIG. 8 . - In S702 the
layout creating function 33 calculates the area occupied by the first object to be laid out in the virtual print area. The occupied area of the object is calculated by the objectsize calculating function 331. - In S703 the
layout creating function 33 determines whether the virtual print area can accommodate the occupied area calculated above. Specifically, thelayout creating function 33 determines whether the virtual print area can accommodate the area occupied by the object when the object is placed with reference to the coordinates (X0, Y0) calculated by the coordinate calculatingfunction 332. If thelayout creating function 33 determines that the virtual print area does not accommodate the object (S703: NO), then a page break is inserted in S704 and the process of S701 is executed on a new page. On the other hand, if thelayout creating function 33 determines that the virtual print area accommodates the object (S703: YES), in S705 the object is laid out with reference to the point of the coordinates (X0, Y0). The above layout process is executed by thelayout function 334. - In S706 the coordinate calculating
function 332 calculates a printing start position (X1, Y1) for laying out the next object. - In S707 the
layout creating function 33 determines whether another object exists in the document data. If thelayout creating function 33 determines that another object exists in the document data (S707: YES), then thelayout creating function 33 returns to S702 to calculate the area occupied by the next object, and repeats the process described above. On the other hand; if thelayout creating function 33 determines that no other object exists in the document data (S707: NO), then the layout creation process ends. Subsequently, the process advanced to S502 ofFIG. 9 . - In S502 the
application 30 issues a command to theprinter driver 50 to perform a print based on the layout created in S501. The document data undergoing this process by thelayout creating function 33 is transmitted to theprinter driver 50 by thecommand function 34. Specifically, theapplication 30 transmits the laid out document data to theprinter driver 50 as a graphics device interface (GDI) function through thegraphics engine 40. The process of S502 is executed by thecommand function 34 of theapplication 30. When the laid out document data is transmitted to theprinter driver 50 through thegraphics engine 40, the reducingfunction 41 of thegraphics engine 40 reduces the document data using the reduction ratio calculated by the reductionratio calculating function 54. Subsequently, the process advances to S601 ofFIG. 11 . -
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure by theprinter driver 50 to perform a printing process based on the layout created by theapplication 30. - The
printer driver 50 converts the document data transmitted from theapplication 30 into PDL data that is suitable for printing. - In S601 the
drawing function 57 interprets the command based on the function received from theapplication 30. In this embodiment, the GDI function received from theapplication 30 is converted to a device driver interface (DDI) function by thegraphics engine 40. Hence, thedrawing function 57 interprets the command based on the DDI function received from thegraphics engine 40 and then performs a pre-process to change the command into PDL. - In S602 the developing
function 58 develops (rasterizes) the interpreted command content into PDL data. - In S603 the developed data suitable for a PDL print is supplied to the
printer 7 via the communication cable 9. -
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing the printed sheet by the printing process described above.FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the printed sheet by a conventional printing system. In the printed sheet shown inFIG. 13 , the document data is printed by reducing the document data with the reduction ratio which is calculated in order that the original printable area can be reduced within the post-process area while maintaining the aspect ratio. When the printed sheet ofFIG. 12 is compared with the printed sheet ofFIG. 13 , it is obvious that the blank area formed on the conventionally printed sheet is not formed on the top and bottom of the sheet in this embodiment. In other words, referring toFIG. 13 , the blank area which is neither the binding are nor the unprintable area remains on the upper and lower portions in the printable area of the sheet. - On the other hand, referring to
FIG. 12 , the entire area on the sheet other than the binding area and the unprintable area is used for printing the document data. The printing method of this embodiment is able to eliminate these unnecessary spaces because theapplication 30 creates a layout in the virtual print area provided by theprinter driver 50. In other words, theapplication 30 arranges document data from subsequent pages in areas that become spaces in the conventional example. - Through the process described above, the
printer 7 can perform a printing operation to achieve a printed product conforming to the user's expectations. The printable area of the sheet can be effectively used for printing reduced document data with avoid producing unnecessary spaces, when the user has selected the binding option. In other words, theprinting system 100 avoids the generation of unnecessary spaces on the printed sheet, even when the printable area of the sheet is modified by settings for margin areas. - The
printing system 100 prevents objects in documents from being cut off in the middle when printed on the sheet. - The
printing system 100 can effectively use the printable area on the sheet, when the document includes a mix of text, photos, or graphics. - The
printing system 100 enables the user to perform different types of printing operation while maintaining the original layout of the document data. - Next, the second embodiment of the operation of the
printing system 100 will be described when the user selects the N-in-1 print option. In this embodiment, the N-in-1 printing option is selected by the user. When printing a document, the user opens a window on thedisplay 16 and sets the N-in-1 printing option through the printoption setting function 51 a. - In this embodiment, the post-process print
area calculating function 53 calculates the area in which the document data is actually printed when the user selects the N-in-1 printing option. - First, as shown in
FIG. 3 , the sheet size is set by the user operation through theapplication 30, and then transmitted to theprinter driver 50. - Subsequently, a process shown in
FIG. 14 is performed by theprinter driver 50. The process ofFIG. 14 is similar to the process ofFIG. 4 which is performed when a biding margin option is selected. - Referring to
FIG. 14 , in S401 the sheetsize acquiring function 51 of theprinter driver 50 receives the sheet size from theapplication 30. - In S402 the printable
area calculating function 52 calculates the printable area that is predetermined for the acquired sheet size. As shown inFIG. 5 , the dimensions of the sheet are indicated as 11 inches vertically and 8.5 inches horizontally. Since the dimension of the unprintable area on the top and bottom of the sheet is {fraction (1/6)} inches and the dimension of the unprintable area on the left and right sides of the sheet is {fraction (1/4)} inches then the dimensions of the printable area are 8 inches horizontally (8.5 inches-{fraction (2/4)} inches) and 64/6 inches vertically (11 inches-{fraction (2/6)} inches). - In S403 the user can set the N-in-1 printing option in a window displayed on the
display 16 when executing a printing operation. The N-in-1 print option is selected by the user operation through the printoption setting function 51 a. The printoption setting function 51 a asks the user to enter the number of N. - In S404 the post-process print
area calculating function 53 calculates the area within the printable area that can actually be printed when the N-in-1 printing function has been set. When the user enters 2 as the number of N in the N-in-1 printing option, the post-process printarea calculating function 53 calculates the post-process print area by setting the vertical dimension of the printable area to one-half the current size.FIG. 15 is a plan view showing an example of the post-process print area when the 2-in-1 printing option has been selected. In this embodiment, the post-process print area has been calculated as 8 inches vertically and 32/6 inches. (64/16 inches×{fraction (1/2)}) horizontally. - In S405 the reduction
ratio calculating function 54 calculates the reduction ratio for the printable area in order that the printable area can be reduced maintaining the aspect ratio thereof to achieve the maximum occupation within the post-process print area.FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the printable area which is reduced while maintaining the aspect ratio thereof. In this embodiment, since both the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the post-process print area inFIG. 15 have been modified from the dimensions of the printable area, the reductionratio calculating function 54 determines which reduction ratio is smaller, the vertical one or the horizontal one. InFIG. 16 , the horizontal reduction ratio of 32/48 is obtained by dividing the 32/6-inch horizontal dimension of the post-process print area by the 8-inch horizontal dimension of the printable area, the vertical reduction ratio of 48/64 is obtained by dividing the 8 inch vertical dimension of the post-process print area by the 64/6 inch vertical dimension of the printable area. Since 32/48 is smaller than 48/64, the horizontal reduction ratio of 32/48 reduces the printable area to achieve the maximum occupation within the post-process print area while maintaining the aspect ratio of the printable area. Accordingly, the reductionratio calculating function 54 calculates the reduction ratio to be 32/48. - In S406 of
FIG. 14 , the virtual printarea calculating function 55 calculates the virtual print area by dividing the post-process print area by the reduction ratio.FIG. 17 shows the virtual print area obtained by the virtual printarea calculating function 55. In other words, by dividing the 32/6-inch horizontal dimension and the 8-inch vertical dimension of the post-process print area by the reduction ratio of 32/48, respectively, the virtual printarea calculating function 55 calculates the virtual print area to be 8 inches wide and 12 inches long. - In S407 of
FIG. 14 , theprinter driver 50 sends the reduction ratio, the dimensions of the virtual print area, and the dimensions of the virtual sheet size to theapplication 30 via thegraphics engine 40. In this embodiment, the dimensions of the virtual sheet size are 8.5 inches wide and 74/6 inches long, as shown inFIG. 17 . When this data is sent to theapplication 30, the reduction ratio is stored in thegraphics engine 40. Subsequently, the process advances to S501 ofFIG. 9 . The subsequent process is the same as that of the first embodiment in which the binding margin option is selected. -
FIG. 18 is a plan view showing the printed sheet by the printing process described above.FIG. 19 is a plan view showing the printed sheet by a conventional printing system. In the printed sheet shown inFIG. 18 , the document data is printed by reducing the document data with the reduction ratio which is calculated in order that the original printable area can be reduced within the post-process area while maintaining the aspect ratio. When the printed sheet ofFIG. 18 is compared with the printed sheet ofFIG. 19 , it is obvious that the blank area formed on the left and right of the sheet (the upper and lower portions on the divided sheet) by the conventional printing system is not formed on the left and right of the sheet in this embodiment. In other words, referring toFIG. 19 , the blank area which is not the unprintable area is generated in the printable area of the sheet. - On the other hand, referring to
FIG. 18 , the entire area on the sheet other than the unprintable area is used for printing 2 pages worth of document data on a single sheet of sheet. - The printing method of this embodiment is able to eliminate these unnecessary spaces because the
application 30 creates a layout in the virtual print area provided by theprinter driver 50. In other words, theapplication 30 arranges document data from subsequent pages in areas that become spaces in the conventional example. - Through the process described above, the
printer 7 can perform a printing operation to achieve a printed product conforming to the user's expectations. The printable area of the sheet can be effectively used for printing reduced document data with avoid producing unnecessary spaces, when the user has selected the N-in-1 print option. In other words, theprinting system 100 avoids the generation of unnecessary spaces on the printed sheet - The
printing system 100 prevents objects in documents from being cut off in the middle when printed on the sheet. - The
printing system 100 can effectively use the printable area on the sheet, when the document includes a mix of text, photos, or graphics. - The
printing system 100 enables the user to perform different types of printing operation while maintaining the original layout of the document data. - Next, the third embodiment of the operation of the
printing system 100 will be described when the user selects the simple scaling option. In this embodiment, the simple scaling option is selected by the user. When printing a document, the user opens a window on thedisplay 16 and sets the simple scaling option through the printoption setting function 51 a. - In this embodiment, the user can establish a binding margin, or enter the command to divide a sheet into N portions to print N pages worth of document data in the sheet.
- First, as shown in
FIG. 3 , the sheet size is set by the user operation through theapplication 30, and then transmitted to theprinter driver 50. - Subsequently, a process shown in
FIG. 20 is performed by theprinter driver 50. - Referring to
FIG. 20 , in S401 the sheetsize acquiring function 51 of theprinter driver 50 receives the sheet size from theapplication 30. - In S402 the printable
area calculating function 52 calculates the printable area that is predetermined for the acquired sheet size. - In S403 the user can set the simple scaling option in a window displayed on the
display 16 when executing a printing operation. The simple scaling option is selected by the user operation through the printoption setting function 51 a. The printoption setting function 51 a asks the user to enter a binding margin or a desired printing area. - In S404 the post-process print
area calculating function 53 calculates the area within the printable area that can actually be printed, the post-process print area. The post-process print area is obtained by subtracting the overlapped area between the printable area and the binding area from the printable area. - In S405 the reduction
ratio calculating function 54 calculates the reduction ratio for the printable area in order that the printable area can be reduced maintaining the aspect ratio thereof to achieve the maximum occupation within the post-process print area. - In S406 the printer driver reduces the document data transmitted from the
application 30 by the reduction ratio. In S407, the reduced document data is printed on the sheet by theprinter 7 in order to avoid the reduced document data from printing on the binding margin. - With this construction, the
printing system 100 can print the reduced document data without laying out the document data using thelayout creating function 33 of the first and second embodiments. - As described above, the
printing system 100 can perform a printing operation in the option selected by the user. - While the invention has been described in detail with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the attached claims.
- For example, while the objects shown in the drawings of the embodiment described above represent only text, these objects may also be photographs or graphics. Further, the dimensions of various areas, including the dimensions of the sheet size, the dimensions of the unprintable areas, and the dimensions of the binding area, may be modified as needed.
- The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-305685 filed Aug. 29, 2003 including specification, drawings, and claims is incorporated herein by references in its entirety.
Claims (17)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
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JP2003-305685 | 2003-08-29 | ||
JP2003305685A JP2005078236A (en) | 2003-08-29 | 2003-08-29 | Print controller |
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US20050058486A1 true US20050058486A1 (en) | 2005-03-17 |
US7040821B2 US7040821B2 (en) | 2006-05-09 |
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US10/926,982 Active 2024-11-12 US7040821B2 (en) | 2003-08-29 | 2004-08-27 | Print controller for reducing document data to be printed on sheet |
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